ecomrestack

battles / Analytics

Convert vs Heap

Convert ($499/mo/mo, vibe code 4/10) vs Heap ($1,000/mo/mo, vibe code 4/10). Heap is the easier one to rebuild yourself — here is what you lose either way.

Convert
KEEP

Analytics

$499/mo/mo

Vibe code4/10
Moat4/10
MVP
2 weeks
Full replacement
6-12 months, due to anti-flicker edge dispatch, visual editor, and statistical engines
get the build prompt →
Heap
KEEP

Analytics

$1,000/mo/mo

Vibe code4/10
Moat3/10
MVP
2 weeks
Full replacement
9-12 months, due to the scale of high-throughput OLAP data ingestion and client-side DOM mutation tracking

easier to rebuild

get the build prompt →

price gap / year

$6,012/mo

running both / year

$17,988/mo

our call

Start with Heap — highest vibe code, weakest moat.

Convert

Writing a script that flips a coin and alters CSS is trivial, but building a production A/B testing suite is not. Convert handles ultra-fast edge dispatch without page flicker, sample ratio mismatch alerts, and GDPR-compliant cookieless tracking. Self-building the visual editor and statistical engine is inefficient for non-software vendors.

you can rebuild

  • URL split redirects and query parameter routing
  • Basic custom JavaScript and CSS injection per variant
  • Simple 50/50 traffic allocation algorithms
  • Event streaming to Google Analytics 4
  • Basic device and URL path audience targeting

what you lose

  • Visual point-and-click WYSIWYG DOM editor for non-technical users
  • Sub-50ms anti-flicker edge execution logic
  • Automatic Sample Ratio Mismatch (SRM) detection algorithms
  • Cookieless ePrivacy and GDPR strict compliance frameworks
  • Multi-page cross-session variant persistence without third-party tracking cookies

real moats

  • Sub-50ms global CDN edge dispatch preventing page visual flicker
  • Audited statistical significance and sample ratio mismatch calculation engines
  • Deep privacy architecture for cookieless GDPR and CCPA compliance

open source escape hatches

Heap

Building a simple custom event tracker takes hours, but Heap's core value is capturing every un-instrumented raw DOM event and querying billions of rows retroactively. Maintaining the ClickHouse infrastructure and low-latency client snippet required for this consumes significantly more engineering resources than a SaaS subscription.

you can rebuild

  • Explicit event logging via API
  • Basic pageview and click counting
  • Standard conversion funnel visualization
  • User identity tracking and aliasing
  • Simple user segment filtering

what you lose

  • Zero-code retroactive event definition on historical raw DOM payloads
  • Client-side automatic DOM change and dynamic hierarchy tracking
  • Managed, highly optimized ClickHouse/OLAP query performance
  • Automatic client-side PII redacting and sensitive field masking
  • Built-in session replay integration and visual event point-and-click definition

real moats

  • Proprietary client-side DOM autocapture engine
  • High-throughput event ingestion and low-latency OLAP querying at scale
  • Retroactive query parsing engine on raw payload streams

open source escape hatches

Questions people ask

Which is easier to rebuild with AI, Convert or Heap?

Heap. It scores 4/10 on vibe code with a moat of 3/10, so an AI-assisted MVP takes about 2 weeks and a full replacement about 9-12 months, due to the scale of high-throughput OLAP data ingestion and client-side DOM mutation tracking.

Which one costs less, Convert or Heap?

Convert at $499/mo/mo for a typical mid-market store. The gap between the two is about $6,012/mo a year.

What do I lose if I replace Convert?

Visual point-and-click WYSIWYG DOM editor for non-technical users Sub-50ms anti-flicker edge execution logic Automatic Sample Ratio Mismatch (SRM) detection algorithms

What do I lose if I replace Heap?

Zero-code retroactive event definition on historical raw DOM payloads Client-side automatic DOM change and dynamic hierarchy tracking Managed, highly optimized ClickHouse/OLAP query performance

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